Marked By My Best friend’s Twin Brother

Jake's POVThe morning light slanted through the grimy window of my room, casting long shadows across the floor. I squinted against the brightness, rolling over to check the time on my phone. It was 6:30 a.m.The reality of the day ahead smacked me in the face. Senior year. The last lap of this high school marathon. I should have felt excited, but all I felt was a dull ache in my chest, an anxiety that settled like an unwelcome guest. I swung my legs out of bed, my feet hitting the cold wooden floor. It creaked beneath my weight, a familiar sound that had become part of the soundtrack of my life. The air in the room was stale, mixed with the scent of old sweat and something else I couldn’t quite place. I looked around at the chaos.Clothes strewn everywhere, empty soda cans piled up, and the remnants of last night’s dinner on the desk. My bedroom mirrored my life disordered and neglected.As I got up to face the day, I caught a glimpse of myself in the cracked mirror. My dark hair w

Emily’s POV The final bell rang, shrill and metallic, echoing through the hallways of Willow Court High like a warning siren.Students burst from classrooms in loud, chaotic waves—laughing, shouting, reuniting as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.I hugged my books to my chest, weaving through the noise.My long chestnut hair kept slipping forward, brushing my cheeks as I pushed my round glasses back up my nose. They always slid when I was stressed… which felt like every second of senior year.College applications. Scholarship essays. Finals.My brain was a hamster wheel that never stopped spinning.All I wanted was one peaceful afternoon in the library with chamomile tea and my half-finished personal statement.But peace is apparently too much to ask for.Because the moment I turned a corner, I collided with the one person I never wanted to see.“Whoa, watch it!” a deep voice snapped.I stumbled backward, my books scattering across the floor like someone had kicked apart a pap

Emily’s POVSenior year wasn’t supposed to feel like drowning.But that’s exactly what the past few days had felt like—an endless rush of deadlines, textbooks thicker than my will to live, debate prep that ate my lunch periods, and volunteer shifts that left my clothes smelling faintly of dog shampoo.Every second felt like sand slipping through my fingers.And the harder I tried to grip it, the faster it disappeared.The library became my sanctuary.The scent of aged paper, the glossy sheen of polished wood, the quiet whispers of pages turning—it was the one place where the world didn’t demand anything from me.Here, I could breathe. Here, I wasn’t the girl constantly scrutinizing every choice. I was just… me.But peace never lasted long.Because every time I walked into the halls, I saw him.Jake Blaze.Dark hair, leather jacket, fists that solved everything except his own anger issues.The guy who never passed up a chance to make my day worse and somehow still managed to look stupi

Jake's POV The brick wall behind the diner was cold even through my jacket.I leaned into it anyway, because cold was better than home.The alley buzzed with distant traffic and late-night laughter drifting from somewhere down the street. Neon lights flickered at the corner, painting the pavement in sickly colors. I took one last drag of my cigarette, the smoke burning my lungs just enough to remind me.That I was still here, then flicked it to the ground and crushed it under my boot.Routine.Escape.Survival.I came here whenever the walls at home felt like they were closing in—which was most nights. My dad’s house wasn’t loud right now, not yet, but silence could be worse than shouting. Silence meant waiting. Waiting meant bracing for the next explosion.Eighteen years old, and I already felt worn down to the bone.People thought I was angry because I wanted to be. Like rage was some personality quirk I’d chosen off a menu. They didn’t know how resentment grows—slow, quiet, fed

Jake's POV:I felt the bed dip moments later I heard the door open gently and close and I knew she was gone. She tried to sneak out but I heard her. Fuck what have I done? We should have never went that far.What the hell was I thinking. I was thinking with my dick instead of my brain like always.After scrambling for my own clothes I head out of my aunts house knowing that I had to head home. I crept through the front door, easing it shut with the smallest click I could manage. My heart was still racing — not just from sneaking in late, but from the lingering rush of the night… and from her.Emily.All I could think about was her laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, the way my chest felt lighter just being near her. The cool night air on the walk home had done nothing to clear my head — if anything, it only replayed every moment with her on a loop.We were supposed to keep things chilled at that party at my aunts but who am I kidding, somehow it turned into chaos — mus